Congrats! What kind of funding are they offering? like TA/RAships? I applied to u of t as well but I haven't heard back yet. I hear it has a lot of more theory type courses instead of more hands on so it might not appeal to everyone.

Anyone else with more comments on UT, because I have heard the same about UBC too. Perhaps most schools are all theory.

So if you all got into the schools you applied for, which would be your top choice and why? (ignoring money/location)

Hi, I was informed about McGill's recommendation on Feb 17 and received the formal confirmation in the mail on the 20th. They only gave me a week to accept their offer with a deposit.

Any thoughts on McGill's program? it seems to be a little more practical with a lot of emphasis on design but I don't know about their focus on environmental planning. I am interested in both fields.

I am still waiting to hear back from uoft though (planning and MLA)

I've posted a few times about McGill here on cyburbia. I'll share my most recent post with you:

"I'm not in any of these schools, but since I was so determined to go to McGill I found a contact last year who is a first year student there now. They started with 22 students in total, 3 of these in urban design stream. Apparently the urban design stream fell apart this year and the people involved totally got screwed over. One of them left and apparently the other two are potentially leaving."

The person I contacted is actually very disappointed. They had expectations for the school that turned out very differently when they got there, and a few other classmates share the same frustrations. Apparently the school is also very poor, which makes them have very few faculty that deal with extremely specific topics. There is one very active professor there who is interested in transportation planning, so if you are interested in that it might be the school for you despite the other negatives there.

I've posted a few times about McGill here on cyburbia. I'll share my most recent post with you:

"I'm not in any of these schools, but since I was so determined to go to McGill I found a contact last year who is a first year student there now. They started with 22 students in total, 3 of these in urban design stream. Apparently the urban design stream fell apart this year and the people involved totally got screwed over. One of them left and apparently the other two are potentially leaving."

The person I contacted is actually very disappointed. They had expectations for the school that turned out very differently when they got there, and a few other classmates share the same frustrations. Apparently the school is also very poor, which makes them have very few faculty that deal with extremely specific topics. There is one very active professor there who is interested in transportation planning, so if you are interested in that it might be the school for you despite the other negatives there.

Before applying to their program this year, one of the features that really attracted my attention was their design concentration.
I even contacted the department and they suggested that I could submit my portfolio if it was ready by the time of the application deadline but that any decision (on the student accepted to the design stream) would be made only after the first term of studies.
Now, based on what you heard from other students, I wonder whether they are restructuring this concentration since they still advertise design as one of their main focus.

I am now a little intrigued. What do you mean about the school being very poor? I would bet anytime on the resources available at McGill and its departments.
thank you for the info!

Anyone else with more comments on UT, because I have heard the same about UBC too. Perhaps most schools are all theory.

So if you all got into the schools you applied for, which would be your top choice and why? (ignoring money/location)

I'm mostly interested in Ryerson because their program focuses on urban revitalization, development and design (which is what I'm interested in) and it also seems more hands on. I also would like to go to U of T because they have a wide variety of specializations to choose and it's an excellent school (but yes, it would be more theory based).

Acceptances

I am applied to: Manitoba, Guelph, Queens, York and Dalhousie. So far I have been accepted to Manitoba, Dalhousie and Guelph. I have not heard from Queens or York. based on what I read I must be on the wait list.
Congrats on others acceptances and good luck to everyone.

Thanks Macaulay.
Just the snail mail -- this was the first I'd heard of it. I'm not really surprised, as it was the school I least expected to get into.
Two left!

Originally posted by NewUrbanite

I am applied to: Manitoba, Guelph, Queens, York and Dalhousie. So far I have been accepted to Manitoba, Dalhousie and Guelph. I have not hear from Queens or York. based on what i read I must be on the wait list.
Congrats others acceptances and good luck to everyone.

Hi NewUrbanite, congratulations on your acceptances! Did you hear from Dalhousie recently? Was it by email?

Before applying to their program this year, one of the features that really attracted my attention was their design concentration.
I even contacted the department and they suggested that I could submit my portfolio if it was ready by the time of the application deadline but that any decision (on the student accepted to the design stream) would be made only after the first term of studies.
Now, based on what you heard from other students, I wonder whether they are restructuring this concentration since they still advertise design as one of their main focus.

I am now a little intrigued. What do you mean about the school being very poor? I would bet anytime on the resources available at McGill and its departments.
thank you for the info!

The design stream fell apart because of restructuring. Something to do about how it was changed after the students had accepted but no one told them. When they showed up it wasn't what they expected and so it collapsed.

I am not sure exactly what they meant by poor either since I also figured McGill is filthy rich. What I took from the email was that funding was low so there isn't much faculty or resources. For some that could be a good thing, but this student made it sound like it was negatively influencing their experience there.

I'm 25. Finished my undergrad in 2007, and for the past few years I have worked as a consultant for a development planning firm. My GPA wasn't great for my undergrad, so I am hoping that my international experience will help me land a school.

I got accepted to Ryerson last Thursday and they wanted me to accept or decline by this Friday (march 19) so I've already sent the deposit even though I haven't heard back from the other schools I applied to (McGill, Queen's, Dalhousie). It's OK though because Ryerson was my first choice anyway. And, from what I've read on this thread it seems like my chances of getting accepted to the other 3 schools is getting slimmer as time goes on since others have already been accepted.
I hope I made the right decision in accepting Ryerson's offer! It seems like a great program and it is exciting that it is in Toronto, but it is hard to find honest reviews of the program since it is still new.

I got accepted to Ryerson last Thursday and they wanted me to accept or decline by this Friday (march 19) so I've already sent the deposit even though I haven't heard back from the other schools I applied to (McGill, Queen's, Dalhousie). It's OK though because Ryerson was my first choice anyway. And, from what I've read on this thread it seems like my chances of getting accepted to the other 3 schools is getting slimmer as time goes on since others have already been accepted.
I hope I made the right decision in accepting Ryerson's offer! It seems like a great program and it is exciting that it is in Toronto, but it is hard to find honest reviews of the program since it is still new.

Congrats on the Ryerson acceptance! It is one of my top choices as well but I haven't heard from them yet. Did you get a letter in the mail or did they email you (or both)? They didn't give you much time to decide, did they!? Just over a week...